Leo Tolstoy

Leo Tolstoy

21-year old Leo Tolstoy.

Leo Tolstoy was born on September 9, 1828, in Russia and became one of the greatest novelists of all time. Best known for War and Peace and Anna Karenina, he captured the complexities of human nature, history, and society with unmatched depth and realism.

Tolstoy's early life was marked by privilege, but he struggled with purpose and spent years searching for meaning. After serving in the Crimean War, he traveled, wrote, and eventually settled on his estate, Yasnaya Polyana, where he dedicated himself to writing and philosophical reflection.

As he grew older, Tolstoy underwent a deep spiritual transformation, rejecting material wealth and advocating for simplicity, pacifism, and moral living. His ideas influenced figures like Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. In 1910, feeling increasingly at odds with his aristocratic life, he left home in search of solitude but fell ill and died at a remote train station.

His works remain timeless, offering profound insights into love, war, morality, and the human experience.